Honors and awards

Faculty and staff

Sharla Alexander, a human resources assistant in the department of speech, language, and hearing sciences, and Caronne Rush, an academic coordinator and administrative assistant to the chair in the department of environmental and global health, were named the college’s 2016 Employees of the Year. Rush was also recognized as a UF Superior Accomplishment award winner in the Health Science Center division, along with PHHP employees Glenn Ashkanazi, Ph.D., a clinical associate professor and medical/health area head in the department of clinical and health psychology, Vera Hemphill, a clinical service representative in the department of clinical and health psychology, and Margaret Odom Renner, an academic assistant in the department of occupational therapy.

Paul Arthur, Ph.D., OTR/L, a research assistant professor in the department of occupational therapy, was appointed by Gov. Rick Scott to the Florida Board of Occupational Therapy Practice. The board enforces laws regarding professional practice, including adopting rules and policies that establish minimum regulatory standards for safe practice.

Joel Bialosky, Ph.D., P.T., a clinical assistant professor in the department of physical therapy, received the James A. Gould Excellence in Teaching Orthopaedic Physical Therapy Award from the Orthopaedic Section of the American Physical Therapy Association.

Robert Cook, M.D., M.P.H., a professor of epidemiology and medicine in PHHP and the College of Medicine, was named chair of the Florida Consortium for HIV/AIDS Research, the scientific arm of The AIDS Institute. The consortium promotes and coordinates inter-institutional and interdisciplinary collaboration on HIV research.

Linda B. Cottler, Ph.D., M.P.H., chair of the department of epidemiology in PHHP and the College of Medicine and PHHP’s associate dean for research, was awarded an honorary doctoral degree in public health from Chulalongkorn University in Thailand. Thailand’s Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn presided at the ceremony held in Bangkok.

Somnath Datta, Ph.D., a professor in the department of biostatistics in PHHP and the College of Medicine, was elected president of the International Indian Statistical Association for the 2018 term. The association seeks to promote education, research and application of statistics and probability throughout the world with a special emphasis on the Indian subcontinent.

David Fedele, Ph.D., an assistant professor in the department of clinical and health psychology, received the Routh Early Career Award from the Society of Pediatric Psychology of the American Psychological Association. He is also a 2017 recipient of the UF Provost’s Office Excellence Award for Assistant Professors.

Occupational therapy department faculty members Joanne Foss, Ph.D., OTR/L, a clinical associate professor, and Emily Pugh, M.A., OTR/L, a program director and associate in occupational therapy, received the Roster of Fellows award from the American Occupational Therapy Association. The award recognizes AOTA members who have made significant contributions to the continuing education and professional development of its members.

The Journal of Health Care Finance paid tribute to Louis Gapenski, Ph.D., by dedicating the fall 2016 issue to his legacy. An internationally recognized health care finance expert, Gapenski served on the faculty of the department of health services research, management and policy for nearly 30 years before passing away last year. The issue features more than a dozen research articles that are motivated by or related to Gapenski’s work.

Ira Longini, Ph.D., a professor in the department of biostatistics in PHHP and the College of Medicine, and colleagues received the Aspen Institute Italia Award for scientific research and collaboration between Italy and the United States. The team was recognized for creating a computational model of the spread of the Ebola virus during the Liberian epidemic.

Arch G. Mainous III, Ph.D., chair of the department of health services research, management and policy, received the Distinguished Mentor Award from the North American Primary Care Research Group in recognition of outstanding mentorship of a research group member over the course of his career.

Tara Sabo-Attwood, Ph.D., chair of the department of environmental and global health, was appointed to the advisory board of the journal Environmental Science: Nano. Published by the Royal Society of Chemistry, the journal is designed to cover the benefits and implications of nanotechnology on environmental and human health. She was also elected president of the Southeastern Regional Chapter of the Society of Toxicology.

Claudia Senesac, Ph.D., P.T., a clinical associate professor in the department of physical therapy, received the college’s International Educator of the Year for her work with the Nicaragua Project, an annual program in which Doctor of Physical Therapy students and faculty travel to Managua to provide continuing education for local clinicians and university physical therapy faculty members.

Elizabeth Wood, D.H.S., M.P.H., the director of the college’s bachelor’s in public health program and a clinical assistant professor in the department of environmental and global health, took the top prize in the faculty, staff and alumni category of the UF International Center’s annual photo contest for her image of a Maasai warrior.

Students

Sudeshna Chatterjee, a doctoral student in rehabilitation science, received the Leighton Cluff Award for Aging Research for her research on walking after stroke. She also took first place at the 2017 Robert A. Levitt Awards for Student Research on Aging, sponsored by the Institute for Learning in Retirement at Oak Hammock. Two doctoral students in clinical and health psychology, Lindsay Rotblatt and Talia Seider, tied for second place.

Allyson Diggins, a doctoral student in clinical psychology, received the Society of Behavioral Medicine’s Outstanding Oral Abstract award in the student category. She presented her research, “A Qualitative Examination of the Influence of Culture on Engagement in Physical Activity among Black Women,” at the society’s annual meeting in San Diego.

Kanathy Haney, a doctoral student in social and behavioral sciences, received Palm Beach County’s Martin Luther King Jr. Leadership Award for her work preventing human trafficking.

Kelly Hawkins, a doctoral student in rehabilitation science, was awarded the Post Professional Student Research Award from the Academy of Neurologic Physical Therapy of the American Physical Therapy Association for her research on walking in adults who have mobility deficits.

Jennifer Lotz, a master’s student in occupational therapy, was awarded the Edith Weingarten Memorial Scholarship from the American Occupational Therapy Foundation.

A poster on the student-run OT equal access clinic, presented by master’s in occupational therapy students Zachary Pindar, Michael Schwab, Emily Szafranski and Zari Whittaker, won the award for Best Exemplifying the Soul of Occupational Therapy at the Florida Occupational Therapy Association’s annual conference.

Sarah Stromberg, a doctoral student in the department of clinical and health psychology, received the Graduate Student Research Award from the Society for Health Psychology of the American Psychological Association for her study of predictors of dietary outcomes in adults undergoing bariatric surgery.